The invention concerns a process for identifying objects, in particular objects of a flat configuration such as Compact Disks (CDs) or the like information carriers.
Various processes which are covered by the generic term of `printing` such as for example offset, screen and tampon printing processes, have proved successful for identifying objects of the above-mentioned kind. The processes have attained a high technical level but basically they are only economic for long print runs. Apart from the fact that the known processes require the provision of special auxiliary means such as offset plates, screens of printing blocks, the respective number of which multiplies in accordance with the multi-color nature of a print image, it is a change in subject (change in the print theme in terms of word and/or image) which entails conversion times that are not insignificant on expensive printing machines. With that background in mind, the reasons why the known processes are `not economic` for low-number print runs will be appreciated. The reference to not economic here means that a printing operation with a low number in the print run is markedly more expensive than the same printing operation with a high number of copies and thus the costs of printing or identification are relatively high in comparison with the costs of an object to be printed upon.
In recent times, in regard to certain consumer items, and CDs are a particularly outstanding example in this respect, a changed consumer behavior has occurred, insofar as relatively small order quantities of ordered, individually identified articles are gaining ground, with this being combined with forms of identification which are becoming ever increasingly demanding in terms of printing procedure. As a result the cost problem of short print runs is increasingly moving into the foreground, in which respect the known, that is to say conventional processes, by virtue of their technical perfecting, leave only little space to improve the economy in regard to printing on relatively small order quantities.